Once again my favorite annual San Jose festival is here. The next 11 days will be filled with many exciting events and the showing of over 150 films from 34 countries. This year’s theme is “Discover” and the lineup is very impressive. The venues, as usual, are Camera 12, California Theatre and the San Jose Repertory Theatre.
Maverick Spirit Awards will be given at special public events to actors Michael Keaton (still my favorite Batman) and Danny Glover, producer Bobby Moresco (Academy Awards for “Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash”) and screenwriter Michael Arndt (who won an Academy Award last year for “Little Miss Sunshine”).
There will be two silent movie presentations at the California Theatre with live organ music. Both of them are treats for film history buffs. I am thrilled about the showing (Friday, February 29 at 7 p.m.) of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu’s 1932 film “I Was Born, But. . . .” Ozu, one of my very favorite filmmakers, was one of the world’s great directors. He had a unique, low-key original style perfectly suited to his superb signature explorations of the lives of everyday people and their families. On March 7 at 7 p.m., Sergei Eisenstein’s 1927/8 masterpiece “October,” made to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Russian Revolution, will be shown. These are must-sees for all Cinequest attendees.
In between all the films and Maverick Spirit events will be an array of film and technology forums. These are very interesting for filmmakers and anyone curious about how films are made and distributed in the digital age.
Congratulations to Halfdan Hussey, Kathleen Powell and their staff for putting together another exciting Cinequest.
I hope all of you will use this space to join me in blogging about the festival and tell us what you have seen and heard and what you liked and didn’t like. There are so many films that it is impossible to see them all, so if we share our hits, misses and tips here, it will help all of us to decide what to see.
For more information:
http://www.cinequest.org
Make sure to check out Glory Boy Days, a story about growing up in the South Bay. It was filmed completely in San Jose.
I couldn’t agree more—Cinequest has become one of San Jose’s true signature events. At last night’s party at the Hotel Montgomery/Paragon, I lost count of the number of filmmakers and industry folks raving about the uniqueness of the Cinequest Festival and how special it is to these emerging artists and technicians. It is truly NOT your usual Film Fest which suits the filmmakers AND patrons just fine. Halfdan, Kathleen and all of the Cinequest staff and volunteers should be commended for creating and nurturing a “true” San Jose event.
To flout morality by flaunting your love of movies is almost as bad as eating an unhealthy fried flauta at a Mexican restaurant.
Movies, plays, books, ballet, opera, musicals and sports exhibitions disgust me. They should disgust all citizens of the world.
The only art form that should be legal is television situation comedies. Sitcoms are enjoyable, entertaining and fun. To thoroughly enjoy sitcoms, a person should watch them alone, sitting in a comfortable chair, in the privacy and safety of their own home.
PS – The rain that reigned a few weeks ago seems to have been reined in.
#3
Movies should be watched on DVD in your home theater. I watched “Lust, Caution” the other night, and thought it was great. In fact, it was so good I am going to buy a copy.
Now, lets get those Cinequest movies on DVD so that they can be seen.
Great column Jack! I have a pretty busy schedule this week but I’m going to try and fit a few of these in. I am so pleased you did this topic in your column. I love a good movie!
I really love old movies. One of my all time favorites is “Mandelin”, (Not sure, but I think that is how it is spelled.) by Alfred Hitchcock! The cinematography in this movie was just incredible for back then. I also love the Incredible Shrinking Man. That ending still takes my breath away.
The way they used music really set the mood for the suspense, and I love the way they used different lighting, or the angle they shot a scene from to set the mood and draw you in, or enhance the feeling the actors were expressing. I liked the 3 D old movies too! Unlike some of the movies today, the old ones always left you thinking. To this day I can’t take a shower without thinking of Psycho, or look out over a sea cliff without thinking of Madelin, or drive by a baseball field without thinking of Who Is On First!
I must admit I have seen some very good movies in the last couple of years. No Country For Old Men, Little Miss Sunshine, Atonement was wonderful, Crash, Never Land, and some of the animated children’s movies have been very enjoyable. I’ll go see a few I haven’t seen and report back.
#1 Brent
Thanks for the tip. I am looking forward to seeing “Glory Boy Days.”
#5 Kathleen
Do you mean Hitchcock’s film “Marnie?” The one with Sean Connery?
Just a reminder about tonight’s showing of Ozu’s film mentioned in my column. It’s at the California Theatre at 7 PM. Don’t miss it.
Here is the IMDB page on it:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023634/
If you missed the showing of “Les Paul-Chasing Sound” last night it is showing again on Mon and Tue. Anyone interested in the develpment of the electric guitar and American popular music of the 20th C will be fascinated by it. It was shown on PBS American Masters last year so you know it’s good!
The Cinequest program/schedule has been hard to find this year. If you are having trouble, it’s in this week’s Metro which you can get everywhere. I also just found a pile of official programs at Peets on Santa Clara between First and Market.
More later.
Has anyone seen anything they really liked yet?
#6- No, but Marnie was also a great film. Kind of made you appreciate and love your own Mom a little more didn’t it!
I found out the correct name of the old movie I love, it is called Rebecca! This quite, kind, but mousey woman marries a wealthy gentlemen with a dark secret. They move into this huge mansion that over looks a cliff, where he and his former wife used to live. In the movie, you find out that his deceased wife; Rebecca, a very beautiful, and refined woman, has died under suspicious circumstances. She wasn’t a very faithful, or kind woman either.
There’s this really creepy housekeeper dressed in black, with her hair pulled back in tight knot, who continuously taunts the new wife by leaving Rebecca’s room, and things untouched around the house like she’s still alive, and could walk in at any moment. She leads the new mousey wife to believe that her new husband is unhappy in this house called, Mandalay, because he was so deeply in love with Rebecca. I won’t tell the ending because it is a real must see!
#7—the housekeeper’s name was Mrs. Danvers and the house was called Manderly (“last night I dreamt of Manderlay…”). Great, great film.
#7- Thank you! That’s right, Mrs. Danvers. Woo, she was really creepy. I first saw it when I was a young girl. She frightened the hell out of me. And thank you, it was Manderlay! Beautiful house, and looked to be on a lovely property.
Jack, do they ever have old movies like this playing in a theater around here?
#9 Kathleen
Yes. The Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, the sister to the California. As a matter of fact, they are in the middle of a Hitchcock season at present. Unfortunately, Rebecca played a few weeks ago already.
http://rick.stanford.edu/stanford_theatre.html
#10- Thank you Jack! What a wonderful line up of movies. I never even knew about this theater!
#11- Marcela Davison, thank you! I’m on my way to Barns and Noble!
Jack and Kathleen,
Two really great books on Hitch and the history and philosophy of film are “The Murderous Gaze” by William Rothman, Harvard University Press and “Reading Cavell’s The World Viewed”, also by Dr. Rothman and his colleague, Marian Keane. The second book is a review of perhaps one of the master thinkers on film criticism and philosophy of film, Stanley Cavell. Cavell’s work on the study of film, the history of film criticism through such journals as Cahiers du Cinema and the emergence of the study of film as a legitmate aspect of the academy is given a thorough and fascinating treatment by the authors.
The Cinequest line up is terrific—a great opportunity to both view great film and learn from the pros. The seminars with the execs from Porchlight should be a must attend for anyone interested in the business of acquisition—the children’s tv and film business is tough and Porchlight is a great example of an independent studio that has successfully navigated the proverbial shark invested waters in Hollywood—and the screenwriting classes also look like they will be informative and fun.
A Quick update on Cinequest so far.
“Otus” has been cancelled because it got picked up for commercial distribution.
The silent Ozu with organ on Friday night was really great and it’s unfortunate that it won’t be repeated.
Michael Keaton was much like I expected: a fast talking wisecracker who is very funny and entertaining. The little film retrospective of his career reminded me of what a big range of parts he has done. He said the one genre that he hasn’t done that he would love to do is a western. I’ll bet he would be perfect in a character-driven study like “Shane.”
If you thought that Swiss folk music consisted of nothing but corny yodeling without any modern applications you would be very wrong as I found out watching the excellent documentary “Echoes of Home.” If you are interested in unusual musical experiences like I am, you will love this film. Plus the alpine scenery is beautiful.
Anybody else have something to recommend?
“Mardik: From Baghdad to Hollywood” is a must for anyone interested in the screenwriting trade or film history. It’s a documentary about an Iraqi-Armenian immigrant, Mardik Martin, who went to NYU Film School in the 60s with Scorsese and became his coauthor on such scripts as “Mean Streets” and “Raging Bull.” Lots of interviews with Scorsese in between following the subject around New York and LA (he now teaches at USC Film School) and letting him tell his own story.
I have seen a few good movies the past couple of days I can recommend.
The best feature I have seen so far is “Ruby Blue” starring Bob Hoskins. Like almost all the other films at CQ it is low budget, but it is very professionally made and the acting, characters, story and script are miles above everything else I have seen. Hoskins is just great as an English widower trying to get his life back together.
“The Art of Travel” is also worth seeing. Good story, script and acting and the South American locations are fun. It seems to be one of the most popular film this year.
I loved the documentary “Sputnik Mania.” Anyone who grew up in the 50s and 60s will get a special kick out of it.
Don’t forget tonights showing of Eisenstein’s silent masterpiece “October” at the California with live organ accompaniment. It’s an extremely rare opportunity to see this movie on the big screen.
“October” was an amazing experience. I am glad I got to see it on the big screen and hope that Cinequest continues to do these screenings of silent masterpieces in cooperation with David Packard’s Stanford Theatre Foundation.
I saw two very good movies on Saturday that I would recommend.
“The Silence Before Bach” is a German/Spanish language film exploring the impact of Bach’s music on the modern world without glorifying him as some kind of superhuman being. He is portrayed as an ordinary hard-working family man born with musical genius which he used to better the human experience.
Right up there in quality with “Ruby Blue” is the Indian-Canadian feature film “Amal” filmed on location in Delhi. Great script, acting, and filmmaking skills from all involved. It’s showing again today at 1:30 pm. It’s incredible that it was made on a budget of $1.2 million. Hollywood would spend $20 million to make something that looks this good.